Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 13, Part 1.

This bill increases the penalty for assaulting a first responder. Present law defines "first responder" as a firefighter, emergency services personnel, POST-certified law enforcement officer, or other person who responds to calls for emergency assistance from a 911 call; and as including capitol police officers, Tennessee highway patrol officers, Tennessee bureau of investigation agents, Tennessee wildlife resources agency officers, and park rangers employed by the division of parks and recreation in the department of environment and conservation. Under present law, a person commits a Class A misdemeanor offense of assault against a first responder, who is discharging or attempting to discharge the first responder's official duties, who: (1) Knowingly causes bodily injury to a first responder; or (2) Knowingly causes physical contact with a first responder and a reasonable person would regard the contact as extremely offensive or provocative, including but not limited to spitting, throwing, or otherwise transferring bodily fluids, bodily pathogens, or human waste onto the person of a first responder. This bill increases the penalty for the offense of assault against a first responder from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class E felony.